President Barack Obama said he won’t rule out using air strikes to help Iraq’s government beat back Islamic militants who’ve seized major cities and threaten to ignite a sectarian civil war.

“I don’t rule out anything,” Obama said today when asked whether the U.S. was willing conduct drone strikes or take other action against the jihadists. Iraq “clearly is an emergency situation” and the government there needs more help.

David Fuller's view

This looks like the first verbal effort to dampen potentially economically damaging speculation in the oil markets.